Confirmed! Most likely location is Port Bonython (Point Lowly). Goal is first exports by 2014/15.

THOUSANDS of jobs will be created by a joint venture to build a gas export plant in the Upper Spencer Gulf, Adelaide company Beach Energy said yesterday.

Beach and Japanese partner ITOCHU Corporation aim to invest in a liquefied natural gas plant with a target of first exports from 2014-15.

"It'll cost about $1 billion to set it up and many billions of dollars will be generated from it," Beach chairman Bob Kennedy told the company's annual meeting. "It's a very exciting opportunity."

Managing director Reg Nelson said as well as thousands of jobs in the construction phase, hundreds of ongoing operational jobs would be needed at the plant, which would have an initial life of at least 15 years.

The joint-venture partners picked the Upper Spencer Gulf because of existing infrastructure, including pipelines to the Cooper Basin and the Victorian gasfields and deep-water access for ships.

The most likely site was Port Bonython, just north of Whyalla, where Beach is a partner in an export facility with Origin Energy and plant operator Santos.

Mr Nelson said while there was much to be negotiated and approved, the involvement of ITOCHU showed this was a serious proposition.

Beach would supply the gas, with the plant capable of exporting one million tonnes of LNG a year.

As well as its existing production sites, Beach is extremely bullish about the potential of unlocking vast fields of shale gas in the Cooper Basin.

Modern techniques, perfected only over the past couple of years, have enabled energy companies to tap into the shale which is deeper underground than conventional gas reservoirs.

Premier Mike Rann welcomed the announcement, saying if all regulatory steps were approved it had the potential to extend the life of the Cooper Basin.

"The employment generated by this project - should it be given the green light - will of course assist the Government in reaching our employment target of 100,000 new jobs by 2016," he said.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Nuclear power push for remote mine sites
Miles Kemp From: The Advertiser June 14, 2011 11:00PM

MINES should be allowed to use small nuclear power plants, the SA Chamber of Mines and Energy says.

Reigniting the nuclear power debate, chamber chief executive Jason Kuchel said the Federal Government should allow mining companies to explore the nuclear option rather than having to pay large amounts of money to connect to the existing carbon-producing grid.

Mr Kuchel was speaking after visiting a nuclear reactor in Canada which operates on uranium that did not require enrichment. He said this would also be suitable for South Australia because of the state's plentiful supply of uranium yellowcake.

"One of the areas in which the Australian Government should consider legislation change is for small-scale, modular units which can be delivered on a truck to the mine site in remote areas to power the site," he said.

"The alternative used at the moment is often diesel-powered generation.

"There is potential there (using nuclear power), which is being used internationally but can't be considered here because of the Federal Government's rules. If there is going to be nuclear power in Australia, then this would be a good place to start.

"The Government wants companies to be cleaner and greener and yet one of the best ways a company could reduce its footprint in a remote area they are not allowed to even consider."

Nuclear reactors are banned on Australian soil despite a long-standing policy to welcome to Australian ports nuclear-powered and armed navy vessels from the United States and United Kingdom.

STAR reactors - Small, Sealed, Transportable, Autonomous Reactors - are being developed by the US Energy Department.

They measure 15m by 3m in diameter, with outputs of 10 to 100MW.

Mr Kuchel said the policies were contradictory given the similarities between the self-contained and mobile nature of the small nuclear power plants. He said the modular units would also be one way of Australia avoiding a carbon tax.

Power supply issues on Kangaroo Island may soon be a thing of the past with a new grant to stimulate business development and renewable energy growth.

The state government grant of $254,520, from the Renewable Energy Fund, will go towards a feasibility study by RuralAus Investments into a 10MW renewable power station on the island. If successful, the biomass power plant will exceed the energy needs of RuralAus for its sawmill and processing facilities, feeding a significant amount of extra power into the local grid.

A 10MW renewable energy power plant will take approximately 18 months to plan and construct at an estimated cost of $30 million. Residue from timber processing and harvesting will be used as the power station's fuel source. It's expected to be able to add a consistent supply to the energy network, especially in peak periods, which will support growth of other industries on KI and create local employment and economic benefits.

The reliability and performance of the KI energy network has been challenged by high costs and supply limitations associated with power transmission from the mainland. Kangaroo Island is currently supplied by one undersea cable, and during peak periods there can be stress on the entire KI network.

"Enhanced geothermal systems have the potential to provide base load power; it is one of the most abundant sources of renewable energy available and is more than sufficient to replace current coal and gas power supply," he said.

"Essentially, geothermal presents us with a compelling solution to tackling climate change as well as addressing future energy supply issues. Now that Australia has a carbon pricing mechanism, we have the means to work on making clean geothermal power generation a reality."

Selected quotes from above.

Rocks within 5km of the surface of SA could generate 585,410MW if 20 per cent of the heat were extracted.

This is up to 168 times the amount of energy currently generated by coal and gas.

...

"Enhanced geothermal systems have the potential to provide base load power; it is one of the most abundant sources of renewable energy available and is more than sufficient to replace current coal and gas power supply,"

For the record, a single unit nuclear reactor is up to 1,400MW each, or put another way, we have enough hot rocks to do the work of 418 such reactors.

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